Hello summoners, and welcome to my Kha'zix guide. I have much experience with Kha'zix and I'm a very experienced laner overall. I'm currently in Platinum Division after the ladder reset, and I'm currently climbing. Also, my guide is also based around countless hours of Korean Challenger solo queue replays. I would appreciate feedback as well as tips to improve the guide!

Gamertag EU-West: China4Fun
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Pros: INSANE early game damage Can snowball EXTREMELY hard Great Escape/Gap closer ( Easily one of the best in the game) Skillset with sustain Versatile ultimate Excellent Towerdiver in the mid game Very fun to play/unique mechanics One of the best solo queue champions to solo carry with

Cons: Close to useless in teamfights if you don't get resets Position Reliant Can be countered/camped which ruins your strong laning phase Kha'Zix is currently not a meta-appropriate champion

Passive: Unseen Threat

Explaination: You basicly get an empowered auto-attack which slows and deal bonus damage to your target that refreshes when your enemies can't see you . You can abuse this by constantly going into brushes when laning to refresh it, or by ulting when you're lvl 6. It helps you win normal trades, auto-attack trades or to set up ganks for your jungler. The passive has most impact when ganking or laning.

Q: Taste Their Fear

Explaination: This is your Super Mega Nuke Spell. This is your most important ability, and you're gonna want to max this first for max burst, harass and damage output. Another feature of this spell is that it will mark out targets that are "isolated", which basicly means that the are alone. It can mark out all types of targets (Jungle monsters, creeps, champions, Baron etc) and your Q will do an extra amount of damage to these targets. Note that if an enemy champion is close to a tower, the tower will prevent isolation. This spell has a really short cooldown, and because of the ridiculous damage to isolated targets at level 1, you can hide in a bush and wait for your lane opponent to enter to get a free kill, or in worst case a free lane until they have backed and returned to lane, with Q - Auto attack(to proc passive slow and extra damage) and then following up with more autos and q's by orb-walking/attack moving. NOTE: There are some champions that can kill you level one if they begin the fight, especially if they went for a Doran's Blade and you went for a Crystalline Flask. An example could be lane Lee Sin or Darius.

If you evolve this spell, you will get longer range on this spell and your autoattacks, something that's really good in lane and to get your passive off in your kill combo rotation and for harass. Your Taste Their Fear will deal bonus damage to isolated targets. If you evolve this early, you will be looking to Leap at your enemies once they're isolated while laning, and try to zone them away from the creeps.

W: Void Spike

Explaination: This is a short-ranged skillshot that stops at the first enemy it hits, and then explode in a small AoE dealing damage and slows enemies. If you use this spell up-front it will also heal you, and it can help you pick up multiple creeps at a time if many creeps are low and about to die. The crowd control it provides will work well with your passive and ultimate to chase down a kill or to set up ganks for your incoming jungler.

Tip: If you shoot this spell from medium range and then immediately Leap or Flash towards them you will still get healed!

If you Evolve this spell, it will shoot three Void Spikes instead of one. If you hit one enemy with multiple Void Spikes, the damage wont stack up, so keep that in mind. The slow however increases significantly. I evolve this spell when my team don't really have an initiator and/or if we need poke to engage or siege once we're grouped. It don't really help you that much when you're fighting, because it takes some shoot the spikes at the keytarget since you cant do it mid-air and the animation and skillshot is rather slow, and because the damage will not multiply. It also helps pushing, but you should have a Ravenous Hydra for clearing waves anyway, so evolving it for pushing can't be justified.

E: Leap

Explaination: It's your Gap-Closer/Escape. You jump a short distance in whichever direction you want and when you land, you deal some AoE damage at the location. You should put a point in this early, but max it last. I personally like to get this lvl 2. IMPORTANT: This ability can be interrupted by certain abilities; Like Janna's Howling Gale and Monsoon or Alistar's Pulverize and Headbutt

When evolved, this spell gets OP. Litterally. Definitely Kha'Zixs best ability in his kit. Your jump gets insane range, and as long as you kill or get an assist at the target, you can jump again. This spell can be extremely useful for escaping ganks, towerdiving and teamfighting. This plus his extraordinary damage is why Kha'zhix is such strong pick.

R: Void Assault

Explaination: It makes you invisible and increases your movement speed for a short duration. It also refresh your passive, even if you are revealed during stealth. You also will ignore unit-collision during the duration. This spell is great for dueling, chasing, juking and it also offers some eveasiveness when teamfighting. I personally like to use it after my full rotation of spells, so my enemy can't see me and therefore cant retaliate. You can also combine this spell with bushes to juke your enemies really hard. You can use this spell 2 times. (Juking means escaping your enemies with really low hp remaining.)

When you Evolve Void Assault, you can use this spell 3 times and you will receive 1 more second of stealth. I personally think this is the weakest ability to evolve, because the effect you get doesn't really help you in the same way as with the other abilites. You will change color though, which is also pretty cool :D

As Kha'Zix you will be the able to carry games singlehandedly. The reason why you will be able to carry so hard, is because of Kha'zixs ridiculous damage, which comes from evolving and maxing Q, Evolved Enlarged Claws. When evolved, you will deal even more damage to isolated targets. If your opponent is isolated, you should be able to win trades and all in engages no matter what. Evolved Enlarged Claws should always be your first evolution. Evolved Wings should be your second evolution. This is what makes Kha'zix literally OP. The spell can be used as a gapcloser and to escape, which is really strong just that fact. This spell makes you towerdive with almost no risk. You can just jump on the low top laner, kill him, and jump straight out. The killreset is what makes Kha'zix a great teamfighter as well, due to him being able to clean up a whole fight all by himself.


Our third choice stands between Evolved Spike Racks or Evolved Active Camuflage. I usually get Evolved Spike Racks, since the ultimate evolution have been nerfed some patches ago and does not give the impact as it used to grant. If you poke consistently, the other team will get low, and that can make up for bad initiation. (Helps sieging/controlling the midgame). Evvolve your ultimate if you feel like you need more evasiveness and mobility, however this evolution is not recommended. A rule of thumb when playing Kha'zix is to never jump in for a kill, if you're not 100% sure to get it. No kill = No reset!

There is also a rivalry between Kha'Zix and Rengar in their lores. If they are up against eachother, they will at some point in the game gain a buff called "The Hunt is On!". If the Kha'Zix kills the Rengar he will gain a forth evolution (meaning he can evolve everything. On the other hand, if Rengar kills Kha'Zix, his Bonetooth Necklace will be replaced with "The Head of Kha'Zix", which acts like a fully stacked Bonetooth Necklace.

A good laning phase is important to Kha'zix. You need to become a threat to the other carries on the opposing teams, because if you cant kill the other carrier, you're pretty useless. Luckily for us, it's not the hardest thing in the world to win your lane as Kha'zhix. If you manage to get a kill, the lane is usually over. You should wait in the river bush to top lane at level one and wait for your opponent to arrive. If they facecheck you, you have a 100% kill. If your opposing laner is smart, he will walk through his lane. If this happens, start pushing your lane. The reason why is because you want to hit lvl 2 before him. Kha'Zix is really strong at lvl 2, and when you have two abilities and your opponent just have one, you are almost certain to win a huge trade. A thing to keep a look at is your and his minions. Minions do a lot of damage early game. So basicly= If you has more minions than you, don't trade. You you have more than him, try to go for a trade. Follow this rule unless you have level, item or any other type of advantage. I like to stop trying to push when i hit lvl 2. I usually take E, and chunk him if he's isolated. Then i try to freeze him from the wave. Remember to keep an eye out for their jungler and your own. You you're not feeling comfortable against the other champion, you can just play passive, farm up and wait for your own jungler to help you out. A surprising move that can get you a kill, is to flash-e-AA-Q-W-Ignite for a kill. If they are really low, you can just back off and wait for them to move a little bit to close. The range on your Flash-E is really far, and most opponent wont be able to react. If you get a kill, or just want to back in general, you should push the lane to his tower. If he backs as well, he will loose his minions at his tower, making you get a cs lead. If he stays, he still needs to push the wave all the way over to your turret, you will most likely be back from your recall to be able to pick up the cs if he's a slow pusher. If you get behind, just play passive and wait for your jungler. Just keep in mind that you probably can do a lot more than him when it comes to teamfighting. If you're up against a AP top, getting a Hexdrinker early on can be good idea. Also remember to keep your lane warded as often as possible. Ward either in the tri-brush or lane brush, or deep into the enemies jungle so you can spot the jungler out before he can make his way over to top lane to gank you. Also keep in mind that the jungler can do a "Lane-Gank", where he waits in one of the lane brushes. Remember to always keep your eyes on the minimap to see if anyone is missing out from their lanes. Don't blame your mid-laner for not calling SS/Mia; It's your own job to have a good map awareness.

Mid game is the time for teamfights and objectives, this is also were Kha'zix shines. This is were you are the strongest, especially if you have won your lane and have farmed a lot. Wait for somone on your team to initiate, and then jump after low squishies and get resets. Even if your team is behind, you can still win if you play it correctly. (By behind, i mean some kills or objectives behind, if your bot lane is 0-20, then you're pretty screwed!). After winning a teamfight, proceed to take objectives as mid tower, dragon and enemy buffs.

First of all, you should try to end the game at mid game. Late game is hard to play, and if you die during a teamfight, then you're pretty screwed as well. You need really good and safe positioning, and maybe even have to Flash -> Evolved Wings to reach their adc or mid. Remember: Don't initiate on your own, just wait for someone else to do so! Play as safe as you can, and push hard or do baron if you win a huge teamfight. Remember = An.ything can happen late game. Great Comebacks are possible!

So you've probably noticed i don't have Manamune/ Muramana in my build. There's a couple of good reasons why, and i will explain them right now.

Muramana

1. Mana is not needed. Back in the days when maxing and evolving W was the way to go, the mana was neccesary. But these days when we are maxing and evolving Q, we don't need the mana at all. Notice that the mana cost of Taste Their Fear is just 25 mana at all levels. Mana is not a problem om Kha'zhix, keeping a Crystalline Flask or a Mana Potion will solve all mana problems. You can still evolve W first in some cases, but that is primarily as mid lane Kha'Zix for sustain and waveclear, but with less damage. However, in mid lane you'll get a blue buff. You won't be needing a tear in any case in my opinion.

2. The biggest problem with this item is that you have to charge a tear. This makes your early game much weaker, and it is in the early game Kha'zix shines. Taking away Kha'zixs early game power for a slightly better late game is NOT worth it. Keep in mind that this is my opinion only, but I can ensure you that in all my ranked and normal games, mana has not been a problem.

Trinity Force

The huge problem with this item is it's cost. It is not cost-efficient. The Phage and especially the Zeal is not that good on Kha'Zix, however the Sheen adds more burst to your damage rotation. This item used to be a pretty bad item to get, however due to the Black Cleaver changes i think it has risen in terms of viability. It's still not the best item in the world for Kha'Zix, but it is ok.

Bad matchups for Kha'Zix is basically either tanky champions with good base damages or ranged champions with a lot of harrass which has the ability to kite you/keep you off if you go in on them. , , , , , ).
I have to say that there is probably 3 champions that is impossible to handle on your own top lane.

: A good Renekton player will almost never loose his lane in general. He has a better sustain than you, he is more tanky than you and he also outdamage you because of this in trades. Just play passive and wait for a jungler gank to help you out. Remember that skill is important. If your lane opponent is bad, you can win this lane.

: I have played this match-ups many times, and i have not really found a way to beat him. As we all know, his sustain is insane. He has ranged harrass, and can kite us efficiently if we decide to jump on him. He is also pretty tanky. Yorick's Ghouls also makes it so he's almost never isolated. You can try to fight him when he gets his tear by buying a Doran's Blade and a Long Sword or something, but this lane will still be incredibly hard. Remember that you can do much more than he can in teamfights mid-game. Try to push your lane and roam mid or bot and pick up kills there once you are lvl 11. Late game adc with Yorick is OP, try to end the game before that stage of the game. (Unless their adc is really bad, then there is not so much of a problem :D)

: This matchup is similar to Kayle. He will poke and Auto-Attack harrass you all day long. If you jump on him, he can just smack you back with his hammer form E. He dont have to push his lane either, a really hard lane in my opinion. Ask your jungler for help as always. Try to fight him when he gets tear and you get a real item. Getting early Ninja Tabi's will help neglect his auto attack harrass and the the damage from his W, Hyper Charge

As Kha'zix you should harrass a lot with your Q and Passive (AA's) in lane. Even if you loose a trade, you have W to sustain your health back up, but this costs a lot of mana. When you're opponent is a little under 50% health in lane you can almost 100% get the kill if they're isolated.

Pre 6: Use E Leap -> AA ( Unseen Threat) -> Q Taste Their Fear -> W Void Spike -> Ignite If you need a little more damage, you can wait for your Q to come off cooldown, then Flash -> Q Taste Their Fear

You can also: W Void Spike -> E Leap -> AA Unseen Threat -> Q Taste Their Fear -> Ignite

Tip: If you enemy let you walk up to him, you can save E until he used flash, then you can simply jump after him.

Post 6: E Leap -> Auto Attack ( Unseen Threat) -> Q Taste Their Fear -> W Void Spike -> Ignite -> R Void Assault -> AA ( Unseen Threat) -> Q Taste Their Fear - R Void Assault - AA ( Unseen Threat) - Q Taste Their Fear -> W Void Spike (If it's up).

Tip: If you have built Ravenous Hydra then proc it (Use the Item Active) in air before you land when using Leap, then continue with your normal combo.

Harassing in lane is rather simple if your opponent is melee. When you see one of your own creeps get low, you know they will most likely go for it. When they do, punish them for it. Use AA --> Q for a quick and easy harass. If you are bullying your opponent and zoning them from the creep wave, try to E -> AA -> Q ->W onto them for some really efficient harass. Also, remember to keep going into brushes to get your passive back up to win Auto Attack trades and to punish them for cs'ing. Just make sure that the enemy jungler isn't nearby. Keep your eyes on the minimap to check if one of your wards can spot him out, or if he shows up in other lanes!

If your opponent is ranged, i usually go for a opener which offers a lot of sustain, then E -> AA -> Q -> W when they step away from the creeps and they get isolated. Your damage will most likely be that magnificent that even if they try to trade back, you will still come on top of the trade. Ranged match-ups are hard in general, practice is the keyword here. Try laning against a Teemo. I've faced a lot of Teemos top, and the only way to beat him is to basically kill him in lane. But remember that all lanes are a 2v2; It is you, your lane opponent and the junglers!

Kha'zix need someone to initiate in teamfights. This is important. If your team has no initiation, you're in a pretty bad spot. You want to be the one to jump in after the tanky jungler/mid laner (like Morgana or Cho'Gath) and then pick up the kills or kill the back-lines, to then either jump to a new target or disengage. Kha'zhix don't really fit in the current meta of Health-Stacking tanky top laners either, but if you're good at him, you can carry insanely hard. I have carried unwinnable games due to the strenghts of Kha'zhixs versatile and OP kit, and Im sure that if you take the time to learn of to play this buggy assassin, you can get a lot of free wins in ranked and carry yourself to the division you're seeking for! Also please rate and share this guide, have put a lot of efford in making and coding this guide!

(Psst! Mecha Kha'Zix is indeed the BEST skin for Kha'Zix.)

Last, but not least, i want to mention jhoijhoi for writing such a awesome BB-coding guide and for making the banners. Check out his guide if you're interested in making a guide, you'll learn a lot!

2014 -06-09 - Updated the guide after many changes from different patches

2014-02-11 - Published the guide

2014-02-12-28 - Went through the guide several times and corrected it.

2014-03-27 - Even with the recent Kha'Zix nerfs, he is still strong and viable. I feel like the nerfs were only targeted against Jungle Kha'Zix, not lane Kha'Zix.

2014-05-15 - Kha'Zix received a small nerf this patch. You have to wait 2 Seconds before entering a New "stealth" when evolving ult. Turrets counts as friendlies when It comes to preventing isolation, target also need to be further away from friendlies to be marked as isolated. A small nerf, but I don't think it's that huge. Towerdiving however might be slightly harder, but when laning they won't be isolated anyway due to minions.

21.05.2015 - Updated the guide. The Black Cleaver isn't really viable on Kha'Zix anymore, therefore the Trinity Force has risen in terms of viability. I've also taken your comments very seriously, and many changes have been made because of your awesome feedback. Thank you guys so much!